Cinema Rex bombing

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This article is about the Belgian cinema destroyed by a V-2 rocket in World War II. For the arson of the Cinema Rex in Iran, see Cinema Rex fire.
Cinema Rex Bombing
Part of the Western Front of WW2 and Strategic bombing during World War II
LocationCinema Rex, Belgium
DateDecember 16 1944
Attack type
  • Aerial bombing
  • Rocket attack
Weapon1 V-2 Rocket
Deaths567 killed
  • 271 civilians
  • 296 Allied military personnel
Injured194 Allied military personnel
Unknown number of civilians
PerpetratorsNazi Germany Wehrmacht

Cinema Rex was a cinema located at Keyserlei 15 in Antwerp, Belgium. It opened in 1935 and was designed by Leon Stynen, a Belgian architect, modeled after large American movie theatres.[1]

On 16 December 1944 (the first day of the Ardennes Offensive), at 15:20, a V-2 rocket fired from The Netherlands (Hellendoorn) by the SS Werfer Battery 500 directly landed on the roof of the cinema during a showing of The Plainsman. There were approximately 1,100 people inside the cinema and the explosion killed 567 people including 296 Allied servicemen (194 further servicemen were injured) and 11 buildings in total destroyed.[2] It took nearly a week to dig all the bodies out of the rubble. It was the single highest death total from a single rocket attack during the war.[3] Following the attack all public performance venues were closed and the town council ordered that a maximum of 50 people were allowed to congregate in any one location.

The theatre was re-built in 1947 but closed in 1993 and was demolished in 1995.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "The Rex Cinema". v2rocket.com/. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  2. ^ "16 december 1944: V2 Cinema Rex". 13 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Cine Rex in Antwerp, BE - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org.

Further reading[]

  • Serrien, Pieter (2016). Elke dag angst: de terreur van de V-bommen op België (1944-1945). Amsterdam: Horizon. ISBN 978-94-921-5958-8.

Coordinates: 51°13′05″N 4°25′03″E / 51.2181°N 4.4174°E / 51.2181; 4.4174

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